November 28, 2022 - Be An Impact Player!

Are you an impact player?

What does that mean? As a young athlete I must confess that I usually thought of that just as the player that had the biggest stat line… which is possibly true, but not always true… That is why we now see things like a plus/minus rating showing how the team is doing when a player is on the court… we see things like a PER, player efficiency rating… These are ways to try and determine not only one’s individual contributions, but also one’s effect on the team. A player’s contribution does not always show up on the stat line.

(Great Example: Last night as I watched a basketball game on ESPN, the commentators spent a significant amount of time discussing a player that didn’t even get in the game. The player, Conrad Hawley - who happens to be the nephew of one of my dear friends, warmed-up with a camera attached to him… he is apparently nicknamed the CEO – Chief Energy Officer – for the Iowa State Cyclones. It was discussed how he chose college basketball over college football because of how he could be a part of, and impact, the team culture. They talked of how he impacted practices. Not only did they discuss him at length during one segment, but his name was also brought up other times throughout the game. I don’t ever recall hearing that much about the impact of a player that would not even appear in the box score…)

I could go on and on with this example but simply want this week to encourage us to seek significance over status! I typically refer to the basketball idea of being a “triple threat”; we each have “the ball” in our hands when it comes to determining how we are going to spend our lives. When the ball is in hand we can:

Shoot to score: we all know folks that need to hear the Gospel! Share the life-transforming good news of the Substitute whenever there is an opening…

Dribble to create space: in our basic serving of others, it can often lead to openings to score. By serving others it creates the platform for others to listen to the Gospel… (It is over-dribbling when we ignore Gospel opportunities)

Pass to teammates that are in position to score: Sometimes we are presented with a better option of providing resources to teammates that are already positioned to share the Gospel…

Yesterday in church the pastor was challenging us to live lives of impact… lives that matter… he landed on this great reminder:

SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS. THAT WE MAY GAIN A HEART OF WISDOM. (Paslm 90:12)

The idea of “number” is not just to count them, but to prepare and appoint each day to one of “wisdom”… the word wisdom here has the idea of skill… administration… shrewdness… In other words significance, not waste.

Look at how you are investing your time and energy for the team… be an IMPACT PLAYER!

As I scrolled through the passage of Scripture that was his main text, I came across this beautiful benediction:

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and ESTABLISH THE WORK OF OUR HANDS FOR US; YES, ESTABLISH THE WORK OF OUR HANDS. (Psalm 90:17)

[Shameless Plug: I’m writing this on the eve of Giving Tuesday – as you consider the possibility of “making a pass” (INVESTING) resources… look to INVEST for Gospel-IMPACT! InBounds Ministries is in the midst of our 4^th Quarter Push to “end 2022 strong and start 2023 stronger”… we have been positioned to “score” and need help from teammates… (i.e., In February of ’23 we will be in Budapest Hungary)]